Editorials & Comments
Time To Make Choices
The General Elections on
November 4 will probably be
historically significant not be
cause of a mandate from the
voters, and massive support of
either Presidential candidate
and his platform, or clear stand
on the issues. Rather, the
historic fact may arise from the
very low voter turnout at the
polls.
Survey after survey tells us
that the American people are
simply not impressed with the
talents, proposed programs or
sheer leadership ability of either
of the major presidential can
didates. As President, candidate
Carter has taken a sharp right
turn from many of his political
promises of four years ago and
has not demonstrated the force
ful leadership the American
people want and need.
Candidate Ronald Reagan, as
Albert Hunt, of The WaU Street
Journal, so aptly states, “...has
been sending signals on the
campaign trail that, at best, are
contradictory and, in some in
stances, are down right decep- v
tive.” .For example, Reagan
says that the Civil Rights Acts of
the 1960s are “bad legislation”
and refers to “affirmative
action” as “unnecessary bureau
cracy.” Furthermore, Reagan
has told Mississippi whites he
favors “states’ rights” - a code
phrase for returning to segrega
tion and denial of legal rights to
blacks.
The third major candidate, if
we can call him that, Independ
ent John Anderson, is saddled
with the traditional American
dislike for third party candi
dates. Furthermore, many
voters believe that a vote for .
Anderson is in reality, a vote for
Reagan or Carter - depending
which of these two you may
favor. Last, and more signifi
cantly, candidate Anderson has
not demonstrated that he has the
leadership the nation needs and
he hak not offered a viable
political platform alternative to
that of Carter or Reagan.
Political Power
This summary of the tragedy
of our presidential political
choices is nearly enough to dis
courage many from even taking
the time to vote. Yet, the fact is
not voting is without a doubt the
one thing that can supercede this
tragedy especially for black
Americans.
It is disheartening to note that
in the 1976 presidential election
only 54.4 percent of the voting
age population went to the polls.
Of young Americans, ages 18-20,
who fought for and got voting
rights in 1971, only 38 percent
voted in 1976. Among blacks,
only 48.7 percent of those eligible
voted in 1976.
It is a fact, too, that in the 13
Presidential elections in the
United States between 1928 and
1976, there were only seven
wher^jaje^wentage^^Uie^
voung-age populations that
actually voted exceeded 60 per
cent, and the highest of these
was only 64 percent. Therefore,
it is not simply an apparent
disenchantment with the leading
Presidential candidates, there is
overall political apathy among
American voters toward the
political process. This is further
evidenced by the continuing de
cline in voter participation in the
five Presidential elections since
1960.
What is undoubtedly paro
doxical about these develop
ments and the indifference of the
American voters is that it was
the reapportionment decisions of
the early 1960s that broke up the
corruption in machine politics
and gave all voting-age citizens a
voice in their government. Fur
thermore, above all other single
issue items, it was the civil
rights movement of the 1960s
that taught Americans of every
political viewpoint that political
power could be effectively or
ganized outside the traditional
“establishment” strongholds.
Your Vote Counts!
Thus, what is happening is that
the American voter is failing to
utilize the hard-won gains se
cured within just the past 20
years. “Establishment” people
who favor an imperial presi
dency with more centralized
power are pleased to see the high
degree of voter apathy and use it
to argue that representative
democracy is neither what the
American people want or need.
Therefore, our political free
doms may be endangered be
cause of our own failure to
exercise our “sacred right and
our solemn duty” to vote. To not
exercise this duty is to relinquish
to a few the power to not only
choose our President, but to also
choose Senators and lesser
public officeholders who wilL
make decisions that affect our
livps
For those of us who had the
good sense to register, and there
fore the privilege to vote on
November 4, we urge you to
study the candidates’ viewpoints
on the issues. Such an assess
ment should not be limited to the
Presidential race because elec
tion for congress, state, county
and even city offices may have
a more direct affect upon your
welfare..
Finally, if nothing else jolts
you to go to the polls to vote,
remember this - the next Presi
dent of the United States will
probably appoint more judges to
the Supreme Court than any of
his predecessors. Those so ap
pointed will make decisions in
the next 20 years that will affect
the welfare of blacks and other
Americans, particularly minor
ities, through the year 2050. Vote
for this reason if for no other.
Will we see you at the polls on
November 4?
The Gospel Truth
i
Goods And Garbage
uy uev. Jim Money, I'n.u.
Manufacturers and sellers of
quality merchandise put their
labels on the product they offer.
Certain brand-names, labels and
signatures have become known
for good quality, dependability
and service. The purchasers and
users of these products place
their confidence in the supplier’s
name. We look for the label to
determine the product’s worth.
On the other hand, I have
never seen autographed gar
bage, have you? When garbage
is put out it is unlabeled, un
signed and unwanted. Those who
produce it take no pride in their
product. Those who collect it
make no boast of where they
picked it up:
The same principle applies to
information. He who has some
thing worthwhile to say wants
the credit for publication. He
wants to be quoted (correctly)
and will defend his statement.
His Work is his product and he
stands behind it. His name or
identity is associated with it and
he accepts the responsibility for
it.
The gossip-monger, the tale
bearer never wants to be identi
fied. “Don’t tell anybody that I
said,” "don’t quote me,” “I can’t
tell you where I got it” are the
indicators of verbal garbage. Its
sources are “people are saying,”
“1 overheard,” and “they say.”
Whenever the source is not clear
ly identified, the product is
questionable to say the least.
Garbage is deposited in con
tainers designed for its disposal.
These containers are generally
kept as inconspicuous as possible
and we make little boast about
them. There are “garbage can
people” who specialize in getting
all the “latest dope,” the “low
down,” the choicest “dirt.” They
are known to be receptive to this
sort of thing and, like other
garbage cans, they give off an
offensive odor arising from their
contents.'
Place for the trade of worth
while goods are noted for their
cleanliness, brightness and
charm. All that they have is
clearly marked, labeled and
open to inspection. It is the mark
of excellence that inspires con
fidence and goodwill. The same
is true to people of a right spirit;
they deal in goods, not garbage.
Wise is the person who can
discern between the two and deal
in goods and avoid the garbage.
Regardless, don’t let anyone
make a garbage can out of you.
and that’s the gospel truth!
Change Your lifestyle HaUte And Live Longer
UULUMBIA - SOUtf
Carolinians could enjoy
longer lives if they changed
some of their lifestyle
habits, says Ms. Penn)
Merritt, coordinator of the
Health Awareness and
Promotion Initiative
(HAPI) at the S.C. De
partment of Health and
Environmental Control.
“A recent study showed
that men can acid 11 yean
to their lives and women
can increase their span by
seven years if they fol
lowed six of seven health
habits,” Ms. Merritt savs.
itie habits are: drink
alcohol very moderately or
not at all; exercise re
gularly; get seven to eight
hours of sleep; stop
smoking; eat breakfast
everyday; eat regularly
and don’t snack; and keep
a normal weight in re
lation to height.
This routine will help
reduce deaths associated
with chronic diseases,
seventy-five percent of
which are caused by heart
attack,-cancer, stroke, and
so forth, she adds.
After the first of the year,
the HAPI project expects
to have a computerized
clearinghouse to give peo
ple ready access to printed
and audio-visual materials
about chronic illness, es
pecially cardiovascular
diseases which account for
35 percent of the annual
deaths in the state. Citizens
will be able to call one
number for the informa
tion.
HAPI was initiated as a
federal project in October,
1979, to help people learn
more about the affects of
lifestyles on their health.
By Vernon E. J»nl»n, Jr
Recession Hite Hacks Hardest
It looks like we are in for a replay of the
1973-75 recession, the worst in our post-war
history. That one was also set in motion by
federal policies designed to halt inflation.
Despite the pain it caused, after the
nation dug itself out from under it was left
with a higher base rate of inflation and a
higher base level of unemployment than
before the recession.
There’s little reason to expect anything
different this time around. Policymakers
did not learn the dire lessons of the 1973-75
slump, and the result was to again engineer
a recession as a way to fight inflation.
The only problem. with that approach,
besides the obvious objection that it doesn’t
work, is that it throws almost all of the
burdens on the backs of poor people and
working people. They’re supposed to pay
with their jobs for the rest of us to have a
shot at lower inflation.
The escalating figures on unemployment
bear this out. Those figures contain a hidden
time bomb in that blacks and othw
minorities are hit hardest. This recess raft
could deal a heavy blow to emerging
middle-income black families.
Many in the so-called black middle class
enjoy middle income status only because of
multiple earners in the family. If a young
ster living at home loses his job or the
mother is laid off, there goes the middle
income designation. That family drops
down a big notch or two on the income scale.
Most such families rely for the bulk of
their income on a male head-of-household.
So heavy layoffs in basic industries where
blacks have landed decently-paid factory
jobs mean that some black middle income
families drop into poverty or near-poverty
with every plant closing.
The experience of.the last recession is
instructive. Then, the relatively small
number of black middle class families
declined.
rtjiuuiei itssuu ui uiai recession was a
permanent private sector job loss for black
men. A National Urban League research
study summarizes that dismal story.
Between 1974 and 1977 - or from the
recession’s trough to well into the recovery
period - the economy created over five
million new jobs. Over three and a half
million were in the private sector. .
In that time too, the black working ag^
population increased by fifteen percent. But
blacks didn’t get fifteen percent of the new
jobs. Instead, they got only eight percent
And in the private sector, their share of
the new jobs was even lower. Most dis
astrous, and most worrying as we endure a
new recession, black men suffered a net job
loss of eleven percent in private sector
employment.
In other words, for every ten black men
holding private sector jobs at the beginning
of the last recession, only nine were
employed in the private sector after the end
of the recession — and at a time when the
economy was supposedly on the upswing
Black unemployment rates, just under
double the white rates at the start of the
recession, jumped to almost two and a half
times the white rate and stayed there.
And that’s only part of the story. Official
unemployment figures are based on very
norrAtn Ha/***; *4 _a • .
From Capitol IM -
Can Expect More Positions In Foreign Service
Special To The Past
The number of blacks in
foreign service has been
relatively small and even
then most of them have
been sent to African
countries.
- Out of the 9,161 Foreign
Service employees only 430
_ or 4.7 percent of them are
black. There are 2,292
women or 25 percent. Of
the 3,314 officers in Foreign
_ Service only 106 are black
or S.1 percent, 334 women
or 10 percent."
Representative Bill Gray
“ of Philadelphia, who is a
member of the House Sub
committee on African Af
- fairs and the Subcom
mittee on International
Operations, which oversees
the foreign affairs of the
State Department, has
added a series of amend
ments to the Foreign Ser
vice Personnel Reform
Act. These amendments re
quire an increase of minor
ities and women in the
Foreign Service.
Gray's first amendment
requires the Secretary of
State to establish a minor
ity recruitment program
for the United States
r
Alfreds L. Madison
Foreign Service. The Se
cretary will have to submit
an annual report to Con
gress on progress he has
made in meeting the
requirements This law will
make it known to women
and minorities that their
unfair and unequal treat
ment is being corrected.
Regardless of who the
Secretary of State may be,
he will have no alternative
but to carry out the amend
ments’ requirements. Mr
Gray said, the amendment
“leaves no doubt that the
Congress holds the Sec re
tary of State responsible
ior implementing an equal
opportunity program.
Bill Gray’* second
amendment requires the
State Department to re
frain from assigning
Foreign Service members
to geographic regions, ex
clusively, on the basis of
their race, ethnic back
ground or religion. This
eliminates the long
historical practice of as
signing minority personnel
to areas which relate to
their ethnic origin. The
present policy has been one
of assigning blacks to
Mack-ruled African coun
tries, those with Spanish
surnames to Spanish
speaking countries and
American orientals to the
Far East. The Foreign
Service s stated policy of
worldwide availability has
been violated by its ethnic
assignments.
Mr. Gray’s third amend
ment requires the Secre
tary of State to assure that
, a substantial number of
minorities and women be
placed on the series of
Selection Boards, since
these boards play a crucial
role in the lives and careers
I
of ail members of the
Foreign Affairs commun
ity. Even though the boards
have reflected and in
creased the number of
minorities and women in
the past decade, the Gray
amendment will require
the boards to maintain this
progress and credibility. .
The congressman says,
these three amendments
are necessary not only to
assure equal opportunity in
Foreign Service, but to
strengthen the United
States’ credibility with the
growing number of Black
ruled countries. Full utili
zation of Black diplomats
on a worldwide basis will
have a positive effect on
the United States' credi
bility and relations with
these countries.
These amendments
should place minorities in
important Foreign Service
positions in the European
nations.
This Foreign Service
Personnel Reform Act is
if** first reform of Foreign
Service policies since 1*46
The Act has been passed,
Including the Gray amend
m«nts by both HoustiTtf
Congress, and is now on the
President’s desk. He is ex
pected to sign it into law
within the next few days
Hank Uflecfim Of Art Wl Ohm
A new traveling exhibi
tion from the North Caro
lina National Bank collec
tion of art will open Sun
day, November 2, for its
premier showing at John
son C. Smith University.
This sampling of the
bank's permanent collec
tion will be available for
viewing through November
20 at the James B. Duke
Library. Hours are • a m.
to 10 p.m. Monday through
Thursday, M on Fridays
and noon to 6 p.m. on
Saturdays and Sundays
with no admission charge.
The Alpha Epsilon Chap
ter of the Kappa Alpha Psi
fraternity is sponsoring the
exhibit at JCSU.
"We want to expose stu
dent* to various types oi
art and cultures,” said An
thony Lindsey, fraternity
officer.
The nex exhibition will be
on a tour of North Carolina
cities and towns through
the end of 1M2 After the
JCSU showing, the exhibi
tion will hang in NCNB
bank lobbies, community
or college art centers, and
museums and galleries in
approximately 25 com
munities across North
Carolina
The works in the travel
jngexhibition are part of
NCNB s collection of more
r
■-—.r
than 2^00 paintings, graph
watercolors, photo
!r*pl*. crafts and other
•rt work. Emphasis is on
w<>rk by North Carolina
*nd southeaatern artists
from the United States and
abroad are also represent
ed. Works by 17 artists with
North Carolina back
grounds are included.
NCNB began its series 0/
traveling exhibitions in the
mid-lMOa.
r—■ '■ 1
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•
* WE HAVE BEEN AWAKENED TO
JUSTICE BY SOUND OF SONGS
AND SERMONS,
SPEECHES AND PEACEFUL
DEMONSTRATIONS. BUT THE NOISE- 0N
LESS SECRET VOTE, WILL
THUNDER FORTH A HUNDRED
TIMES MORE LOUDLY.I"
PRIStoiNT
LYNDON t. JOHNSON
Vernon E. Jordan Jr.
/A •
Black’s Destiny In Own Hands—